Werner Herzog Reveals the One Crime He Won’t Commit in the Name of Film

Werner Herzog, the famously eccentric German filmmaker, once declared, “There is nothing wrong with spending a night in jail if it means getting the shot you need.”

But during a conversation Tuesday, the same day that the Oscar-nominated documentarian launched what will certainly be an unconventional MasterClass on filmmaking, Herzog clarified that even he has his limits. And this is the man who once ate an actual shoe after losing a bet to Errol Morris.

“Don’t commit murder,” Herzog says, describing the one sacrifice he won’t make for film. In 2009, Herzog founded his Rogue Film School, an annual three-day program in which he teaches aspiring filmmakers the guerrilla skills he’s mastered making his 70-odd films. Subjects covered, according to the program’s official Web site, include “the art of lockpicking” and “the exhilaration of being shot at unsuccessfully.” But even Herzog won’t cross a certain line.

“You shouldn’t commit a crime that would give you life in prison,” Herzog continues. “That’s my advice.”

The filmmaker was inspired to share his distinctly Herzogian-brand of wisdom in a six-hour course, available online to students all around the world, he says, after being dogged by fans eager to learn by his side.

“It is a systematic answer to some sort of demand that has grown and grown in the last 20 years,” Herzog explains. “When I’ve been at a big event, there have been thousands of people who would immediately want to work with me, learn from me, work as intern, or whatever. I had the feeling that I should give a more organized answer and pass on some of the things that I’ve learned and hard lessons from real life.”

Herzog is careful to clarify, though, that students should not expect him to share anecdotes from his own gonzo career—working with everyone from the controversial, volatile, and at-times violent German actor Klaus Kinski to refined Hollywood movie stars like Nicole Kidman.

“I’m not into giving you nice and funny anecdotes,” Herzog says of his MasterClass wisdom. “It’s various lessons for people who really want to look deep into making their own films and how they could survive long term in this field.”

He’ll cover everything from financing, music, and editing to handling out-of-order actors. Herzog also gives filmmaking students a reading list. This being a Herzog-composed reading list for a Herzog filmmaking class, however, the director boasts, “None of these books have anything to do with filmmaking.” What they do have to do with, however, is beauty.

“An example of a book I recommend is J.A. Baker’s masterpiece in nature writing, The Peregrine,” Herzog explains. “It’s about unspeakable beauty. It has prose in it that you have not seen since the short stories of Joseph Conrad. It has a passion for what [Baker’s] observing and an intensity that all filmmaker should acquire.”

Herzog has two suggestions for how aspiring filmmakers can hone that intensity and appreciation for beauty.

The first: “Read, read, read. There’s hardly anyone reading anymore,” Herzog says frustratedly. “The second thing is travel on foot. The world will reveal itself to those who travel on foot. But that’s advice that no one follows. But it does matter. You have to be in a situation where you understand the heart of man. And if you do, then you will be able to understand difficult situations and catastrophes on your shoot. You will know how to handle an actor, adversities.”

Although Hollywood is rehashing all manner of reboots and sequels to mass audiences, Herzog has seen evidence that there are still original ideas out there to be explored on film. For his Rogue School, he gets “hundreds and hundreds of applications,” each with a film the applicant has made. And Herzog watches each and every one of them.

“The amount of surprises and unexpected things and unexpected personalities are just mind-blowing,” Herzog says. And in the age of cell phones and computers, there is no need to wait around for deep-pocketed financiers or a chance to steal equipment—like he famously did, pilfering a 35-mm camera from the Munich Film School.

“[This generation] has extraordinary possibilities and can make a film for almost no money,” Herzog continues. “Today there are no more excuses. Just grab your stuff and make the film.”